Anime: My Beginning & My Present

Throughout the one year and close to three months of the blogging community, I have come to realise that I have never provided much context to my opinions on anime, and what anime means to me. I thought they were too unimportant and uninteresting.

That is, until I read numerous such posts from other bloggers, and I realised how my different my experience is with anime as compared to others. Most importantly, I realised that providing the context of my experience is to certain opinions I write is quite relevant, especially when my preferences may border on being ‘different’ from most of my counterparts.

I won’t proclaim to deliver the most entertaining of stories below, but I believe that there is something in this post that would be of interest to any reader.

How it all began

I did not grow up on anime. When I was young, there was a proliferation of popular titles like Pokemon, Digimon, Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon airing on TV and which most kids of the ’90s would be familiar with. (Heck, most of my peers who don’t like anime now have watched at least one of these when they were children, but I didn’t.) For me, TV was just never a big part of my childhood.

The same attitude continued into my early teenage years. There was a time when most of the girls in my class were either obsessed with titles like Vampire Knight or Fruits Basket, some of them even people I was close friends with. Similarly, those never caught my eye. I was a bigger fan of YA novels & Chinese romance novels then, discovering the likes of Twilight and The Hunger Games even before they gained momentous popularity in the international community, after which I gradually lost interest.

It was only some years after that when I met this guy whom I developed a serious crush on. Unfortunately, or perhaps just how it was meant to be, it was a period of time where my self-esteem was completely negative – looks, personality, intelligence, social status. He was the top of everything, and I felt like I was the bottom of everything. We were worlds apart, and that kind of self-inflicted torture formed the bulk of my emotional struggles then. Until he, knowing that I liked to play the piano and violin in my free time, showed me La Corda D’oro.

I think I would never forget the time when I slept over at his place with a couple of friends, and he pulled me aside to show me this glistening gem he thought I would like. I was, initially, surprised at how he would watch this show where one girl was surrounded by a couple of guys – shouldn’t guys only be interested in a show where its the other way around? Then, it hit me. This was a way to narrow the overwhelming distance between us.

I just want to get to know all that he likes.

That was what I thought. And hence, I started to watch my first anime ever.

The Evolution

But even in my delirious, self-deprecating, emotionally suffering, eager to please state, La Corda d’oro did not win me over. On hindsight, it is pretty obvious because its story was not the most structured or most existent. It was not long before I moved over to Vampire Knight, dismissed it at chapter 66 of the manga, and threw myself back into YA/Chinese romance melodrama, which seemed more attractive to me because of how intrinsically dramatic, and complicatedall the love polyandry was. The Chinese novels, especially, had so much beauty in its language and expression that the most dramatic of romance twists completely floored me and sometimes, drove me to tears. They were however, usually about how the losing guy(s) of the love pentagon completely breaks down, like how tears would fall from a cold, stoic character, or how the completely smiley, energetic-type guy spends days in depression, drowning in wine, never to smile again. (Some of them attempt suicide) On one hand, it was completely heartbreaking because I usually could see who the girl would choose in the end, and I started finding novels that would flip that prediction around. On the other hand, I still craved for the predictable endings of morose, heartbroken love interests, perhaps subconsciously indulging in an escapist mentality of a world where characters like that would exist, even if I knew they don’t in reality.

Perhaps spending so much time consuming media in the exact form I wanted to had a toll on me at some point. After countless melodramatic romance live-action dramas with female protagonists & more than one love interest, I stumbled across the thumbnail of Code Geass. And then I thought, hey, maybe I should just try a male protagonist for a change.

Code Geass threw my previous conceptions of entertainment out of the window. Firstly, it contained a voluminous amount of themes that never failed to entertain as the story, fast-paced and tumbling, scrambled to shove everything into something coherent, which they succeeded in doing unlike many series, before and thereafter, that ambitiously followed the same death-courting production schedule and charged to their death. To say it opened my mind is an understatement. It literally opened the door to a new world of narrative construction, theme permutation and conjugation. Suffice it to say that I felt that the missing piece in my life all along was right here, spinning in golden light, right in front of me, the Holy Grail. The plot twists, whether merely for the sake of delivering surprises to sustain interest and hype, drew me in like no other. The characters, especially the long-suffering, complex, highly emotional Lelouch Lamperouge and his sidekicks, his enemies, his hypocritical best friend, Suzaku, mapped out a web of inter-relationships that absorbed me in a way I never thought possible.

From Code Geass, I moved on to discover the vast array of delicacies that this medium of entertainment had to offer. Discovering equally smart protagonists in Death Note, enjoying the political machinations together with angsty shounen action in Gundam Seed, finding out my heart was a pumpin’, bleedin’ thing with Angel Beats and Clannad: After Story, and then going on to open my mind to many other anime. Each time I searched for something similar to the last, I ended up with something that gave me something similar, but different. The thrill of discovering new ideas kept me going, like how the hope of novelty keeps my flame still quivering now.

My Personal Biases in Anime

All which I said above are not merely a backstory whipped out to entertain my readers for no apparent reason whatsoever. It serves to outline the context in which I started anime, and also to lay down my fundamental motivations in watching and keeping to the genre.

This is my fourth year watching anime, and I admit I do not know what the future of my preferences hold. However, I do note that what mainly attracts me is novelty, which means both ‘new ideas’, extending to ‘anything that surprises me’ – explaining my biases towards say, Cross Ange, Charlotte, and Classroom Crisis from the 2015 line-up, and their notable ‘predecessors’ in the ‘questionable-but-entertaining-as-hell plot twists’ department, like Kakumeiki Valvrave, and the ones which were unaccepted by most but had nevertheless had good reasons for their presence like Sunday Without God, M3: The Dark Metal and Blast of Tempest.

I crave for something differently, and that has always jumpstarted the hops between different types of entertainment. Even now, I take breaks from animanga to hop between my sporadic interests – American TV series, Chinese dramas, Japanese/Korean Live Action dramas, YA novels, general fiction, non-fiction, Chinese webnovels, manga, indie JRPG games (including older PSP, Nintendo DS games), otome games, movies (no nationalist differentiation here), current affairs … to name some.

More importantly, what fundamentally anchors me in this medium of entertainment are emotional attachment to characters and the core values underlying their spirit. The former not only manifest in the slew of tearjerkers prominent in the scene like the aforementioned proud babies of Jun Maeda, but present in any character with conflicts to overcome within the context of a supportive narrative framework which accentuates their realism – to grab some examples would be Emiya Kiritsugu in Fate/Zero, just about everybody in NANA, and even Sawako from Kimi ni Todoke. As for the latter, these mainly manifested in the commonality of themes of friendship (nakama), and teamwork, which range from your classic shounen (Fairy Tail, Katekyo Hitman Reborn – my personal favourite) to sports anime (we know which ones exactly), and also, the less celebrated, controversial themes of silent suffering and self-identity (Neon Genesis Evangelion, Infinite Ryvius), inspiration (Tengen Toppen Gurren Lagann anybody? Personally, Diamond no Ace), and the paradox of tradition kept alive in modernity (Hyouka, Tekkonkinkreet, Hanasaku Iroha). Its diversity continues to expand, though my modern line of argument gives it a new twist: look back in time rather than forward.

Was entertaining, but oh man.

As a result of the above, the ubiquitous theme of romance, too common in the past Taiwanese/Chinese/Korean idol dramas which I consumed, which were technically mostly produced or modeled after Japanese shoujo manga, and probably as a knee-jerk counter-reaction to the very reason why I even looked at anime in the first place, no longer presents the same attraction for me. I still indulge in such themes from time to time, but they are no longer a priority for me. I am now more easily irked by reused character prototypes and cliched interactions specific to this genre, which may at times explain my overly harsh stance on the genre (which I will not list any specific examples here, because). It is really because anime offers so much of everything else that I have studiously ignored this genre as much as possible, until I specifically feel ‘the romance craving’. It is probably not a secret to anybody that I subconsciously steer clear of high school romantic comedies, and ‘modern’ shoujo with pre-modern gender stereotypes. Instead, I have a strong preference for side romances, which I define as development of romance in stories where the main genre is NOT romance. (Examples range from Shinsekai Yori to Blast of Tempest and those with a good mix, like Spice and Wolf, and those that feature less but present like Gundam Seed and Darker Than Black.)

Last but not least, a well-structured plot is an element which cannot be ignored no matter how my biases are drawn towards the above components. There is no shortage of anime with thematic exposition with a strong sense of self-identity (think from Mawaru Penguindrum to Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Shinsekai Yori), but personally, because their construction is not unique to this medium of entertainment we call ‘Japanese animation’, they are not strictly the reasons why I continue to identify with the medium. (even though some of them are my favourites precisely for this very reason, like FMAB and SSY). All these are merely ‘supplementary’ to my loyalty towards the genre, though I certainly do not downplay their importance in ensuring the strength of the story told.

Conclusion

Have I scared everybody away with my weird personal preferences? – is what I am thinking foremost at this point. Nevertheless, I still believe that it is important at this time to state the possible ways my judgment can be swayed – so that my readers, you, can be informed. I acknowledge that even though I mostly try to look at, evaluate, and write about anime through as objective a way as possible, there will always be subjective preferences that may or may not be hovering in the background, releasing their invisible influences. This is something I am sure nobody is entirely free from, but as of now, I am taking a step towards realising them, making them known, and ultimately striving to reduce their ‘subjective’ edge as much as possible, whatever that means. 🙂

Thanks for reading as usual, and feel free to leave a like or comment down below!

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57 thoughts on “Anime: My Beginning & My Present”

It isn’t weird at all Yuni. The romance genre tend to be a hit and miss. Romance shouldn’t be it or end all thing. I particularly find it over-saturated in certain genres, especially in high school, slice of life shows and it can be down right annoying at times, romance should be a side-thing imo. As it can help the story / characters to develop.

Haha its good you think that way too. ^^ I have always felt put off by all the high school romance stuff, mainly because I think everything is so blown up and exaggerated that I can no longer empathise with the characters. You’re right, I find romance has more purpose when it is used – properly – in that way. 🙂

Interesting story. Just like Rocco B said, it is not weird at all. Everybody has their own preference as long you enjoy it, that is all it matters. Also, Pokemon and Dragonball Z was my first anime as a kid in the 90s.

Aha yeah, it can be a struggle because I aim to write things as objective as possible, but I was afraid it wouldn’t appeal to a lot of people because I had different preferences. Yep, those were literally the titles for every ’90s kid haha.

Well said, and I don’t think it’s weird either :). Hell, if it is weird it’s good weird.

And hey: review completely devoid of subjectivity is one without personality, so I wouldn’t necessarily strive to be so devoid of bias or presonal preference 🙂 (although I realise that you mentioned something like this this in your article anyway I just thought I’d stress it a little in case you tried to file down your ‘subjective edges’ too much 😀 ). And I also think it’s good to recognise that there are some points in a review where it really is down to personal preference – this usually comes into aspects like the atmosphere where the ‘tone’ of the show really can change in the reviewer’s point of view depending on their preferences, and it really isn’t something objectively arguable.
I guess what I’m trying to say, is son’t try to get too objective! We love you and your reviews because of the personality you infuse into them ^^ ( don’t take it the wrong way though – there needs to be balance haha)

By the way, what di you think about Kaicho wa Maid Sama? I only ask because I watched it after a favourite reviewer made a seriously positive review about it and came out feeling a little…. uncomfortable xD . I mean it’s sweet and all but jeez, that dude doesn’t half know how to stalk someone. Hell, it got to the point where I started to really feel like *I* was the one getting stalked Dx lol. I dunno, I tried to like it but I felt pretty conflicted hahaaa.

Oh yayyy its Sebbo! :3 You are quite right, ‘tone’ is one of the components of a review where personal preferences are more likely to shine through, though I think it also shows even in the other areas of evaluation. Thanks for making your point pretty clear hahaha, I really appreciate it 🙂 I guess I’d just have to state the biases clearly (if I ever want to do a proper review myself) and then move on. I won’t like to compromise my own voice too much, otherwise it – would – defeat the purpose of my blogging anyway. ^^

Awww yaay 🙂 Haha its okay, I get your point 😀 I don’t think I let too much of personality to be infused into what I write in any case, so no worries on that front xD

Kaichou wa Maid Sama is abit of a mixed bag for me. I watched it at the period when I was really into the romance stuff, and it was funny and the interactions were stereotypical shoujo fluff so I liked it. But that was then, and after a long while (as in, after many anime) I realised how a lot of it was merely sugarcoating how essentially anti-feminism it was. i.e. the girl was made out to be a strong, independent girl who got completely floored by how a guy just magically appears at every moment to save her. I mean, I don’t usually like to look at anime through Western ideals of feminism (because anime is Japanese and well gender roles are still relatively different over there), but there was something very inherently disturbing with it (and how I fell for it easily, once upon a time). So yep, ‘conflicted’ is my TL;DR impression of it xD we may think the same way on this hahaha.
Thanks 😀 I really appreciate you reading & commenting hahaha ^^

It would be extremely interesting to hear your insights on the Iyashikei and slice of life genres. Also, I found this little insight into your tastes to be really gratifying to read.

As an advocate for those type of stories and immersive experiences, I find it intriguing how my humble beginnings of Naruto and SAO has somehow involved into a love for Tamako Love Story’s understated commentary on the different forms of love, without being preachy about the absolutist notion of love that it almost definitely doesn’t believe in, but so many of the anime romances seem to. Other genre advocates includes Barakamon, K-on! and Tamayura, which are all genres I hope I will have the chance to explore more in my writings.

Those genres are certainly unique genres of anime, with a specified purpose of deliberate purposelessness. I personally think what is interesting about those is how much parallels it can be drawn to Japanese societal pressures in real life, since it seems to allude to them precisely. Having said that, though, I am not a very big fan of moe, but since this is the first time I have actually heard something interesting about Tamako Love Story, it has just moved itself up my priority to-watch list.
Thanks for the comment, and consider your purpose achieved! xD

Glad to know that you are giving Tamako a chance! Note that the existence of a more Slice of Life-oriented TV series, Tamako Market, also exists as its spiritual prequel.

I don’t know how you will be able to achieve it, but find yourself a high-quality monitor or TV, find a 1080p-resolution copy of the film and just…sit back as one of the most honest-to-god beautiful anime films comes to life. Maybe its just me, but I don’t think I’ve watched a love story so genuinely portrayed in this format before…a love so obvious, that she never noticed it until it seemingly disappeared.

All I can say is there is nothing wrong with developing a palate. We sample, we crave, then we sample some more. I won’t leave my story here, as this is about you, but I will say that, despite our introductions to anime differing, we both seem to be able to appreciate all genres and the vast spans of worlds each genre can contain. That’s why I like talking to you, ya know? It’s introspection after introspection that keeps bringing me back here (well, that and you’re awesome). So thanks for bringing all of that to light again, it helps reaffirm the voice behind the text 🙂

I think you have said it in much more simple terms than I did (something which I have to learn from), exactly what we are going through when we watch anime, and find new anime to watch 🙂 Exactly, that’s what I feel you are doing too, with your choice of anime to watch, and that level of appreciation that I find rare in fellow anime fans :3
Awwww thank you 🙂 I love talking to you for numerous reasons I am at a loss to elucidate properly, but I do know that our interactions always stand out to me as genuine discourse of anime-appreciative minds ^^ No problem, and I am glad that you enjoyed this post 🙂

And I forgot to say this: I would love to hear your beginnings & how your tastes have changed (if any) as well! I draw on my memory here, but I don’t recall seeing a post dedicated to that from you so …. 😀 (omg tell me if i am wrong or correct please xD)

Aw, of course one of these days! I did do a post over my introduction to anime, but after talking about my first I didn’t really elaborate much more. I’ll definitely jot this down in my notes as a future post idea!

Shoujo and I are like oil and water. We hardly mix together. I only read it when I feel like reading it (which is rarely).
Your reasons for watching anime are not weird at all! Honestly, I can relate to not watching anime while growing up, somewhat. I did watch Doraemon and Crayon Shin-chan but I never knew that they were anime. There was a channel that used to air anime and I watched it once at night, when there were no shows on other channels I used to watch and I didn’t like it at all. That kid me couldn’t follow subtitles and ended up hating it. 😅
I only started watching it when my brother stumbled upon that channel in 2013 and that’s what fuelled my interest in anime. And Code Geass is simply awesome! I haven’t watched any mecha anime after that or before that either but this always holds a special place in my heart for being on of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
I agree wholeheartedly with all the reasons which you mentioned for watching anime. Even though I watch TV shows and did try watching Japanese and Korean dramas (which failed to interest me) I still can’t shake off this habit of watching anime. I was nearly going to but something kept me from doing that and I still don’t know what that reason is!

Hahaha I like your analogy of shoujo and you. xD
I think I would understand why subtitles would put anybody off, especially if you’re a kid. I think to kids, everything animated is just ‘cartoons’ haha, you wouldn’t think twice about whether its anime or not. Its more about whether you like or dislike that cartoon xD
Ooooh yess great another fan of Code Geass! I don’t actually consider it strictly mecha after I have watched more mecha anime either. There’s just something different about it 😀 (even without the bias of being my gateway anime haha)
Yeah I usually get very impatient when I watch Korean and Japanese dramas – for romance anyway, cos i can guess what’s gonna happen. Its exactly how I feel too, that no matter what, I’d always come back to anime. Its like … literally ‘that’ feeling hahaha – I don’t think I have pointed it out very clearly myself, but I am sure we know there’s just something different about it 😉

You made me read even if it was long. I am surprised how you started watching anime. La Corda is your first anime..? haha… Well, thanks to that guy… You’re here now blogging anime reviews. Your story is unique! ^^~ It’s not weird. It’s very you. Hope to see more of you here. 🙂

Hahah glad to know that, Lovely! Yep, it really isn’t as conventional as other people’s beginnings because people mostly watch from childhood or friends’ recommendations xD It was my first anime 🙂 Hehe thank you, it feels very good to hear somebody say ‘it’s very you’ (even if I don’t really know ‘me’ very well yet). I’ll write more personal posts as long as it doesn’t bore people haha 😀

Haha its okay! Whether its conventional or not, its our personal story to tell, and we gain different things out of all of it. Our perspective tells the world who we are, and that’s why blogging is a joy 🙂

As i was reading the first parts i’m thinking, ‘Is Shiro gonna talk about a really serious matter?’ Somehow, your tone was really serious.. or is it just me? Haha, anyway your view of things is really interesting. It’s nice to know about your history with anime too. I have been watching them for much longer but i feel like you have a better grasp on them. 🙂

Hahaha I actually use this serious tone almost all the time in my posts, unless I am doing an announcement or an award post xD I think my decision to watch anime was more of a conscious one, compared to most of you where you watch from childhood or picked it up along the way 🙂 Hence I am more clear about why I am watching anime haha! -imo anyway 😀

Oh, i see. Maybe it’s coz you talked about being negative and such that made me think that. Hmm, i guess so. Anime is a big part of my life already since i grew up watching them. I don’t delve much into the technicalities of an anime, even the producers, studios or (sometimes) voice actors. I don’t often know them. I also didn’t really think much about why i started watching or why i am still continuing to watch.XD

Ah I see. I don’t actually do much research into anime either. Like I don’t know seiyuu or director names, and I seldom keep track of the studios and their style. I only know the big names haha. But I think its fine to not think too much about it too. Sometimes we’re just busy or we have other priorities and interests. Anime can very well just be entertainment and perhaps sometimes that’s all it is xD

Yah, sometimes i just recognize that the art is the same from another so i assume that they came from the same studio. I research on some seiyuus that i really like though, just to know if they are voicing other characters i know.
I might not be able to get rid of anime (and manga) in my system but it’s certainly not my priority now and even in the future, i guess.

I don’t actually have that many of that sort of realisation. Maybe I haven’t watched enough anime xD Ohhh researching on seiyuus is something I do sometimes too! Even though I haven’t done that recently. I heard there are people who watch something just because their fav seiyuu is voicing the mains. I haven’t reached that extent of fandom though :3
I definitely don’t plan to stop anime altogether in future, but the thing is, I have no idea what the future would bring. I honestly think I am a fickle-minded person at times xD

I haven’t done it recently too. But i get really happy when the seiyuu i like is voicing the characters i want them to voice. That’s just perfect. XD I don’t really watch anime based on the seiyuu too.
Yup, stopping is out of the question. Well, it’s not like i’m watching everyday. I do rest from time to time. Same here, i’m pretty fickle-minded too. 😛

Haha personally, I love being surprised by familiar voices in new anime. Like omg hey that’s Mamoru Miyano! Or Kamiya Hiroshi! XD I can only recognize a few voices though haha.
Haha yeah, I don’t watch everyday either nowadays too. I either go on to other media or I just rest for the day :p

Oh yes, that’s true. Sometimes i can recognize the voices too but i’m not very good with remembering names unless someone reminds me of it or i remember it myself later on. Haha, i (sometimes) even forget the name of my friends so whenever i call them it’s like “Hey… hey!” Hahaha.
In my case, when i don’t feel like watching anime, i read until my eyes get tired. Then i sleep afterwards. Haha. That’s basically how my day goes especially during weekends.

Hahaha oh my you have a not-so-good memory of names then, to even forget your friends’ names :p Less for seiyuus then! Esp when its all Japanese names and I am just like @.@ being not too familiar with the language xD

Haha that’s nice ^^ Alternating between reading, watching and sleeping sounds like the perfect otaku life, especially for weekends haha. Its a good time to chill and what better than just lazing around consuming entertainment? xD

My friends know about my forgetful side so it don’t really bother them anymore. Yes, it’s sometimes difficult to remember Japanese names but i think they are beautiful. Haha.
Yup, somehow i hope i won’t get too used to this kind of lifestyle for long. It’s really a very otaku-ish lifestyle but I don’t want to be a hikikomori in the future. XD

Haha I find it quite hard to remember Japanese names though I can remember other types of names and I think it’s a nice language xD
Haha yep I know that feeling. Which is why I try to at least, once in a while, shake up my normal routine of staying at home the whole day by going out with friends. This is when I initiate the going out xD otherwise it’s business as usual for me and I usually just end up at home lol.

Haha wow, you have to remember German names? That’s cool! Hey, you’re doing the same thing as what I did too! I also attended some school stuff the past few days just to soak in the school atmosphere for a while longer. 😀 Outdoor activities sound fun! What exactly are you gonna do? 😀

Not really, just for studying purposes but i have actually forgotten them already. Really? It’s the last chance so i thought i’d grab it. Haha. It’s a send off party actually, and outing with my friends. We’ll go to the pool.

I prefer shows that have side romance more than those that have full on romance as well. The development tends to be more subtle and welcoming. Interesting, kudos for not having the stereotypical ‘ I got into anime by watching DBZ as a kid ‘ type of introduction to anime. So you’re a special snowflake now? I probably will never stop watching anime lol but I understand your reasons, there’s an anime for everyone out there these days.

Yeah, I like the subtlety of that and I hate having it portrayed as the center of that anime’s universe lol. It annoys me when it comes to that point xD
Nahhh I don’t think my introduction is thaaat special, I am pretty sure there are people out there who have different stories as well. Its just really cos a lot of people start anime the same ways … which is why my story seems very different lol.
Haha I personally refrain from predicting my future of whether I’d continue to watch anime cos tbh I still don’t know the extent of my preferences and how much they can change. But yep, there’s an anime out there for almost everybody lol. Some people take longer to find it, that’s all.

We’ve been talking about this for quite some time now, but it’s still better to hear a more specific account from you about your experience watching anime. I can’t really relate that much because like we’ve talked before, I’ve grown up watching anime. Regardless of our different introduction with anime, don’t you think it’s awesome that we’re still able to connect and fangirl together over anime like this? I think it’s awesome. I hope that you keep on watching anime and that we can continue to discuss it for more years to come. Cheers!

Haha yeah! I also think what’s amazing is that despite our different experiences with anime, we are still able to bond over anime, build friendships and connect with one another. There’s just something in anime that brings us all together 🙂 I hope for more interactions with you as well, Arria! Cheers to you as well 🙂

Exactly! And thank you very much. You’re one of my favourite bloggers, not because you’re nice (although that’s a great plus) but because I enjoy your posts. They’re really well-written, and I admire that in a blogger. Keep it up. Cheers!

Excellent post, Shiro. You talked a little to me about how you came to watch anime, but it’s nice to read a more detailed personal account by you. It’s actually touching. It’s just a little funny to me that you were unimpressed with La Corda D’Oro and then you went to Code Geass and BAM! Everything fell into place. Viva Code Geass!!! It’s very evident in how you write your posts that you prefer anime that have deeper and meaningful stories than those who are just there to entertain for the sake of entertainment. . .or to use a more common term, the shallow ones. I don’t mind either way since I’m an extremely moody watcher and my watching habits change depending on my mood. When I’m in a serious mood = serious shows. In a light mood = feel good shows (insert shallow ones), etc. But anyway, I find it amusing that I’m watching anime you recommend when you’ve only been watching for 4 years compared to someone like me who grew up with it. It just goes to show that anime is very diverse and just one person can’t watch ALL of them. It also doesn’t matter how many years you’re watching anime. Anyway, great post as always. 🙂

Nice, Arria, you’ve said exactly what I wanted/needed to hear 😉 but to be honest even though I do generally prefer the deeper stuff, I really do occasionally switch over to the ‘shallower’ ones as well, mainly because of the same reason as you. I know that my enjoyment of a series also depends largely on what mood I am in when I watch things, so I try to match my mood and what I watch as much as possible xD so I understand by what you mean by being a moody watcher :p Yep, hence the length of time one has been a fan doesn’t actually matter much in experience etc. Thanks for reading and commenting, I appreciate it! 😀

Ahahaha! Of course. It would be so dull if someone just watched serious stuff without mixing in some shallow ones here and there. Variety is the spice of life, after all. Besides I’ve involved you into some bishie fangirling before, so I know that you’re not just exclusively into serious series. But still given the kind of posts that you write about, it shows that you prefer serious series than shallower ones.

Haha exactly. Oops, I think I like a good mix of both serious and shallower series but I tend to only write about the serious stuff because for the shallower one it’s really only fangirling and there’s nothing much to write about. XD I mean I could fangirl in my posts but that’s not exactly the kind of content I would like to produce on this blog anyway xD Exactly, I go by a policy of moderation – too much of one kind of anime is not good (plus I get bored fast.)

Ooooooooooooh. Interesting. I didn’t think about that. Good to know. So very unlike me who writes about the most ridiculous stuff and try to pass it off as serious. Ehehehe~ I agree with you. It seems that you’re also a moody watcher like me. And yep, also gets bored although not as fast. . .I’d like to believe. Anyway, what “shallow” anime do you love? I’m curious.

Ehehe sometimes, I do that to. Or I wish to do that but sometimes I hold back, and sometimes I do not. I tend to want to write about frivolous, fangirly stuff when I am in the ‘mood’ for it as well. (My mood for writing varies similarly to my mood for watching anime xD)

Oh well, my love for ‘shallow’ anime can go to the extremely shallow. I indulge in my mandatory fix of reverse-harem-with-no-plot-and-bland-female-lead every now and then xD Ouran is one my favorites (though it does have better characters than most if not all other reverse harem) but I like watching stuff like Brothers’ Conflict and Diabolik Lovers as well. Sometimes :p

Haha, definitely! What better than to acknowledge that I simply am very open-minded (or fickle-minded, actually) and just embrace all both serious and light anime! xD
Aww yes I hope for that to happen too. Ouran is one of the better ones out there but shoujo anime has always been adapted minimally. /sigh

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About Me

Shiroyuni is an aniblogger that hopes to carve out her tiny piece of this virtual space we call the Internet. She has random musings (which I daresay you will find interesting) and updates her blog when she gets inspired.
She also loves random convos with people. Talk to her now! ^^